In The Kitchen
by shoeaddict17
Summary: Ron and Hermione finally have some alone time early one morning after the war. Will they finally tell each other how they feel? Short lil one-shot. Obviously spoilers and R/Hr... With a tad H/G


_Author's Note: Heyyy there, reader. I'm glad you decided to click on my lovely story. Before you read it, let me tell you a little about it. It's about 4AM here and usually, when I can't sleep, I write whatever fanfiction ideas that are bouncing around in my head. Normally their little ideas that don't really turn into stories but I keep them saved on my computer just in case I get an idea and return back to them later on, but this one I actually finished. **Insert applause here** I've been looking up Deathly Hallows pictures (Totally getting pumped for Part one coming out in a few weeks. Midnight showing, here I come!) and I've seen a _**lot **_of cute ones of Ron and Hermione (I am a die hard R/HR. Like, seriously, the piano scene picture [if you've seen it, if you want to I'll gladly send it to you if you like] is the wallpaper on my phone) and, I don't know, my brain started thinking about what happened after DH and, well this is what came out of it. I'm not quite sure whether I like it or not. I haven't really decided. Mind you, I did write this at nearly 4AM. I apologize in advance for any OOC-ness. I tried my hardest, promise! _

_Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I would not be sitting up at 4AM in a bed that makes annoying high pitched noises when you move an inch because it's old and broken writing this...would I?_

* * *

Ron wasn't sure why he had woken up at around two am Sunday morning but, before he attempted to go back to sleep, he decided to make his way down to the kitchen to get himself a glass of pumpkin juice. So, wearing nothing except a pair of flannel pajama pants, Ron trudged down the stairs to the kitchen. Four months, two weeks, and three days. That's how long it had been since the Second Wizarding War, since Harry Potter defeated Voldemort... since Fred Weasley had lost his life. The usual loud and happy chatter that normally filled the Burrow had died down to a quiet hum. Words were spoken softly, carefully. Everyone was either too hurt and full of sorrow to speak or were respecting the others' feelings by being quiet. Harry and Hermione, for example, - who were Weasley's by choice - were doing their best to help the Weasley's through this tough time. Hermione had taken on the work that Mrs. Weasley usually did, such as cleaning, laundry, and making sure everyone was eating, because she knew that Mrs. Weasley needed time to herself.

When Ron reached the kitchen, he saw Hermione sitting at the kitchen table. She had a cup in her hands and was clutching it tightly with nothing but the light of the moon shining through the window behind her, which was bright enough for Ron to see tears trickling down her cheeks quickly. He wasn't surprised, she had been so strong for his family and it never registered to him how she must be feeling. Her parents were still in Australia and she hadn't made even the slightest indication about going to find them anytime soon. Of course, Ron was sure it was because she was trying to help them.

"Hermione," he whispered, stepping further into the room.

She looked up at him and then quickly used her sleeve to wipe her face. "Ron. W-What are you doing up?" She asked in a shaky voice.

"I could ask you the same question."

"I couldn't sleep," she muttered, looking away from him.

The conversation ended as Ron poured his drink , and walked over, sitting down next to her. She avoided his gaze, but he knew the look on her face meant that she was trying not to cry. Ron took a sip and sighed and turned his chair to face her, resting one forearm on the table. He didn't know what to do, but he knew that he wanted to make her smile. Some how, some way, he wanted to make her smile. He was in love with her, and he wished that he had realized it much earlier than he did. He also wished that he had the courage to tell her. "It's okay to cry." He said finally. She put down the cup in her hand, still avoiding his gaze, and said nothing. Instead, she crossed her arms across her chest and bit her lip. "You don't have to be strong all the time."

She took a deep breath, "I know I didn't lose a family member like you did but...I thought of Fred as my brother."

"And I know he thought of you as his sister...just like the rest of my siblings."

Hermione looked up at him for the first time. "Am I like a sister to you?" She asked, a slight blush creeping up to her cheeks. It was the first time they had had alone time together, and the first time that the subject of their relationship was brought up.

Ron was quiet for a minute or so. He knew the answer, of course, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to cross the line into _more than friends_. But she was the one who brought it up, and she was the one who had kissed him first. So the line was already crossed, no turning back now. "Absolutely not," he whispered.

Before either of them knew it, they were slowly leaning closer to each other. It was a subconscious thing, like a magnetic pull of some sort. Ron reached up and stroked her cheek. Hermione closed her eyes and then, finally, their lips met. Unlike their first kiss - passionate and rushed - this one was slow, gentle, and loving. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck while Ron wrapped an arm around her tangling his fingers in her brown curls.

Neither of them knew how long they were kissing, it seemed like a lifetime to them, but after a while, they had to breathe. They pulled apart and, for a minute, kept their eyes closed, wondering if it was a dream. Hermione's eyes fluttered open and met Ron's eyes, there was an emotion on his face that she hadn't seen before. Or, if she had, she had never noticed it.

"Hermione..." He whispered, "I..."

When he didn't continue, Hermione got worried. And, of course, her brain immediately thought the worst. Did he regret what had just happened? Did he want her to leave and never come back? "What? What is it?" She asked, placing her hands on her lap and fidgeting with the hem of the over-sized t-shirt she was wearing. Ron sighed and stood up, running his fingers through his hair as he crossed the room.

"I've been trying to get enough courage to tell you this for a few years now and, every time I think I'm going to...I suddenly get afraid of what your reaction is going to be and all the courage I have disappears."

"Tell me what?"

"I really want to tell you, Hermione, believe me," It appeared that he hadn't hear her question, "But I'm afraid that, once you hear it, you'll run out the door and never come back. And I don't know what I'd do without you." He turned around to look at her, leaning against the counter, his hands gripping the ends of it.

"You'll feel better if you say it," She said, hoping maybe it would help him say whatever he needed to say. Her curiosity was building and she desperately wanted to know what he was talking about.

He gave a small smile, "I'm sure you're right...as usual," She gave a smile as Ron looked away from her. "Okay, here it goes." He took a deep breath, in one last attempt to work up that Gryffindor courage of his, before he finally said, "Hermione, I'm in love with you. I have been for some time now, and I know I've had a rubbish way of showing it...with Lavender and everything," the tips of his ears were turning red and, as he continued to speak, more and more tears filled Hermione's vision. This time, however, they were happy tears. She couldn't believe that the boy - no, _man_ - that she had been in love with was so long was standing in front of her, shirtless mind you, telling her that he returned her feelings. "And I understand if you only think of me as a brother. I mean, I'm sure any other girl would pick Viktor Krum over me any day."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not like other girls, isn't it." Hermione said, standing up from her chair. Confused, Ron looked up at her and, before he could speak, Hermione had crossed the room and was standing in front of him. "I don't care if Viktor Krum came in here right now and asked me to marry him, I would tell him to go ask someone else because I'm not interested...know why?" He shook his head. Hermione took a step closer and wrapped her arms around his waist, "Because I am in love with you, Ronald Weasley."

Ron's eyes went wide and he thought he had heard her wrong. "Really?" Hermione nodded. Ron grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Well, that's good to hear because that means I can do this more often." He leaned down to kiss her again. This time, Hermione pulled away and quickly covered her mouth. _Of course, _She thought, _here I am in the middle of the kitchen _snogging Ron Weasley _and I have to yawn. _Ron chuckled softly, keeping his arms tightly around her. "We should probably get to bed."

She nodded, "Probably." They cleaned up their cups and walked hand and hand up to the staircase. When they reached Ginny's room, Hermione turned to open the door but Ron spun her around and wrapped his arms around her waist. "What?"

"You don't think I'm going to let you go now that I've got you, do you?" He asked with a smirk.

"But Harry - "

" - has probably been waiting for this longer than we have."

"And your Mum - "

" - again, has probably been waiting for this longer than we have. Besides I doubt she'll even find out." Hermione was silent for a minute, debating on whether it was a good idea or not. Ron sighed and leaned close to her ear, "I'll persuade you if I have to." He whispered, trailing kisses along her jaw before finally reaching her lips. "Convinced yet?" He asked, pulling away just slightly.

"Hmm. I think I need a bit more persuading." She smiled, capturing his lips again. They heard the sound of soft footsteps from nearby and figured that it was somebody up to use the loo. Pulling away from Hermione, Ron took her hand and walked the rest of the way up to his bedroom.

The next morning, Harry blinked his eyes open, getting them adjusted to the brightness of the Sunday morning sun before he felt around his night stand for his glasses. Once he found them, he slipped them on and sat up, looking over at Ron's bed and grinning at what he saw. Hermione and Ron were still asleep, wrapped up in the comforter, Ron's arm around Hermione's waist. Both of them were smiling in their sleep.

_Well, it's about bloody time_, he thought to himself, happy that is two best friends had finally told each other their feelings. Or, at least, that's what he assumed happened. There was a knock on the door and Harry untangled himself from his blankets and opened the door. Ginny stood on the other side, a slight look of worry on her face, in her pajamas. "Ginny?" Harry asked before he let out a yawn.

"Have you seen Hermione? Her bed is still made and she's not - " She stopped talking as Harry moved aside and she saw Hermione and Ron. "Oh." She smiled and looked up at her boyfriend. "Do you s'pose this means they'll stop fighting?" She asked. He stepped out the door, closing it behind him, and then draped his arm around her shoulders.

"I doubt it."

* * *

_Author's Note: Ehh...not sure about the ending. Pleaaaase review. =) I would very much appreciate it. Any nice comments or _**constructive**_ criticism is welcome. I'm normally a very nice person (given the time of month...) and I would love to hear your thoughts._

_If you enjoyed this story, please look out for another R/HR coming soon (hopefully). I had one written up that I really liked...then my computer crashed and I lost **everything**. You have no idea how many little snippets of possible future fanfictions and fanfictions that were already written and just needed tweaking I lost. I was absolutely devastated. Now I save everything either to a draft email or my flashdrive. You can never be too careful. Anyway, back to the future fic. I'm trying to recreate it...but it's just so hard to remember what I wrote. So it might be up, it might not. But I will say that this isn't the last one I'll post. I've been on a real Harry Potter kick lately, probably because I'm so friggin' pumped for the movie, and I'm sure by tomorrow I'll have another idea in my head. Sooo keep looking! _

_Peace out, girlscout! (Or boyscout)_

_~Shoeaddict717~_


End file.
